16 Times ‘The Simpsons’ Went Full Fortune Teller and Predicted the Future

Over nearly three decades on the air, The Simpsons have covered a lot of narrative ground. When you consider that most episodes start out headed in one direction only to take a bizarre left turn a few minutes in, there’s even more potential for the show’s writers to satirize pop culture (or just take a blind stab in the dark) and unwittingly hit the nail on the head about some future reality. In the show’s history, The Simpsons has guessed right a shocking amount of times. Check out these scenarios where a Simpson’s punchline became an actual headline, and you’ll wonder if the writers have some secret Magic 8 ball at the table.

1. The Voting SNAFU

In 2008, The Simpsons ran an episode in which Homer Simpson voted for Barack Obama, only to have his vote changed to the Republican nominee, John McCain. It was a silly joke at the GOP’s expense, until four years later when those same complaints were levied against the Romney campaign.